Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Ben & Jerry's EMPOWER mint Ice Cream Review

[Announced May 17, 2016] You know Ben & Jerry's is big in to democracy right? Democracy of (all) the people, by (all) the people, and for (all) the people. Not just the company, the actual Ben and Jerry too. From getting the dough out of politics to getting arrested on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building, this is a serious matter for them. The next step? A new flavor ofcourse!

Ben & Jerry's EMPOWER mint Ice Cream

peppermint ice cream with fudge brownies and fudge swirls

No fake red or green here.

I take one bite and I know it's a keeper. I was going to say something poignant like why don't more companies mix brownies and mint together, but I think it's the swirl that really got my attention first. The flavor is spot on and goes perfectly with the peppermint. Good times.

That's not to say the brownies aren't working some magic as well. As they warm up just a smidge, they start to blend with the other flavors. I haven't gotten any big huge chunks yet like we've seen in some of their other flavors, but I'll keep my eyes open. As is, it's a well made, super premium product that I need to go grab a little more of....

Ok, I was good and only took three more bites (it would have been 30 more bites if it had been the middle of the day instead of the end of it). To recap, excellent peppermint base. It has a nice cooling factor without being overpowering. The fudge swirl is excellent and I'm not usually a fan of things like their fudge cores. Brownies round it out. Tasty trifecta.

I can't imagine how great this would be on a brownie sundae. Ok, technically it is practically a brownie sundae, but on top of a fresh brownie, oh man, epic.

On Second Scoop: Oh yeah, even better on the second scooping. Slow scoop so you get a nice balance of everything on your spoon and you will be oh so happy like I am now. I really do love the way this one came together and I still think it's the fudge sauce that pulls it together. The swirl just seems much more chocolatey than their typical fudge offering and it seals the deal for me. Well done Ben & Jerry's.>>To learn more about what EMPOWER mint is fighting for, go here <<

29 comments:

Not exclusive and I don't believe it's limited but it's literally being announced today. A few stores put it out early, I just found it myself on Sunday. If they put out any good details today, I will add it to the post.

This may be what they decided to release in lieu of Bernie's Yearnings, which was also a chocolate mint flavor. I think they should run with Chris Hayes primary night flub and release 'Bernie Sandwiches' as an entree into ice cream novelties ;)

That sounds great. I dont often think of mint and brownies together as a flavor which is silly because chocolate and mint go really well together (yum mint chocolate chip), and a brownie with a scoop of mint ice cream is delicious (as you mentioned would be good). I think Edys made a mint brownie back in their initial mix-in days but it was dairy dessert and not very good. But i bet B and J do a great job.

Nick is the one who tends to not like mint ice creams, I'm all for them (I don't crave them necessarily, but I enjoy them very much). Edy's actually still makes their mint brownie flavor, though it has gone through several iterations as a Loaded flavor, and a fun flavor, and now still a grand flavor.

"You know Ben & Jerry's is big in to democracy right? Democracy of (all) the people, by (all) the people, and for (all) the people. Not just the company, the actual Ben and Jerry too. From getting the dough out of politics to getting arrested on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building, this is a serious matter for them."

And this is why I don't support Ben and Jerry's. It's not that I agree or disagree with their political opinions, but that they use their products to push their opinion on their consumers.

It's like going to a concert, and midway through the set the band stops playing to talk to you about their opinion on "the" war. Stop using your status to preach to me about your opinions. Just give me the music, or in B&J's case, the ice cream.

So its like Mint Chocolate Cookie except with brownies instead? Not that theres anything wrong with that. Mint Choc Cookie is one of the best flavors out there because you often get massive almost whole sandwich cookies. Used to be better before they went non GMO and changed the source of the cookies but its still a quality flavor.

Hey, that's your prerogative. If you don't like it, don't give them money, that's how you tell them you don't approve. Can I start a small debate though? Is there a line in the sand for you? Companies like three twins might give a bit back to protecting the environment, I assume that's ok? So let's go bigger. Are you ok with something like "save our swirled"? like is environment ok but not politics?

I like when companies try to better the planet but I get that it's tough when they start getting in to social and political issues. Unfortunately most of it boils down to whether you agree with whatever opinion a company is pushing.

Any way to explain what the mint is like? Sometimes mint is too overpowering (not empowering...haha) and other times it's super refreshing. How does the base flavor compare to Takenti, yeungling (yum), breyers, Edys, friendlys?

I'll probably try it anyway but just wondering how you'd describe it beyond what you wrote in the review.

(I don't know your particular status, but a lot of areas use single stream recycling now, so basically you throw anything recyclable in to one giant bin, so much less effort. Plus since I recycle half of my stuff, I only have to do bi-weekly pickup, saving me money. win win!)

First scoop didn't wow me on this one. This did not taste like the green "mint" ice cream from things I enjoy like Dreyer's (even the slow-churned version of Mint Cookie Crunch) or Friendly's or the mint in the Thin Mint Cookies in Breyer's Blasts; maybe B&J's is what (pepper)mint really tastes like, but I wasn't in love with this on first scoop. I wouldn't say it was toothpaste-flavored, and it wasn't overpowering, but I just didn't like it enough to feel like I HAD to eat more (like I do with the B&J flavors I like and most Mint ice creams, as mint is one of my favorite ice cream flavors). Maybe it's just because it was white, though I didn't particularly care for the mint flavor in B&J's Chocolate Peppermint Crunch (I don't remember trying the Mint Cookie Crunch), so maybe I just don't like B&J's version of peppermint.

As for the rest of it: the fudge didn't wow me, and the brownies seemed worse than the ones in the Half Baked Frozen Yogurt.

It wasn't that bad (maybe a 5 or 6 out of 10) but just didn't meet my high expectations for the flavor and B&J's in general. Hopefully my tongue enjoys it more on the second scoop.